by Breanne Zapien

This is the year you will knock on every prospect’s door. You will deliver homemade cookies, and explain why they should buy from you. This is going to work, you can feel it! If only you could sit face-to-face with your ideal customer and serve them in a way they are guaranteed to respond to your offer.

You have spent countless hours on your business. Your Oktoberfest booth is set up, social media posts scheduled and an opt-in form is on your website. So why aren’t more people becoming customers? It’s one of those things that we complicate or overlook because we aren’t sure of the possibilities. As business owners, we know most people don’t become customers right away.

A recent study by the Harvard Business Review found that 71 percent of qualified leads are never followed up. We may be losing sales because we aren’t consistent and effective in our follow-up. What then should our follow up processes look like? As much as we try to stay organized, leads are often lost, our follow up is haphazard and we waste time. Many of us have an opt-in form on our website and generate traffic to our site. We get email notifications in our inbox that a lead has interest in our offer. And then we get distracted by a hundred other tasks in our way. Our new lead is ready to buy and they want answers, even at 10 p.m. on a Saturday night while we’re tucked in bed. Or, most likely, while we are restless and wondering how to follow up with more leads.

Let’s discuss some key considerations that will enable us to make 2018 our best year for proper follow-up.

1. Automatically Pre-qualify the Lead

Does your new lead meet the qualifications of your ideal customer? If your lead has a turkey leg in one hand and a toddler in another, now is not the time for a sales pitch. They drop their card in your giveaway jar and you never see them again. This prospect may not be your ideal client, but wouldn’t it be nice to know for sure? We want to automatically follow up with every lead at the right time with the right message. We want to know if they are likely to buy our product or service. We want their customer experience to be enjoyable, without expending our resources in ineffective ways.

2. Personalize the Content

Providing a prospect personalized communication based on their needs is easier than ever. Through automated marketing, businesses can follow up with leads using tools such as Infusionsoft, which enable us to provide leads with personalized content. Leads which are early in their research process can receive educational information, quotes and promotions directly to their inbox.

3. Personalize the Journey

Setting up a follow-up campaign that allows your customer to choose their journey is ideal. If they click a link or view a product, consider sending more information that might convince them to buy. Remind them of an item they put in their shopping cart online, but forgot about when their phone rang.

4. Explain a Complicated Process

Take advantage of the time between a new lead coming in and the closing of sale. Manual one-on-one methods are often important for your sales team. Supplement the gap by sending valuable and relevant information. Communicating throughout the process will help you spend less time working deals and more time closing them.

5. Nurture Non-Buyers

It can take between 7-10 touches before a customer is ready to buy. If you have a more complicated or higher priced product, it could take longer. Stay consistent and in front of your leads offering relevant content and communication. The Power of Automation In Action Automation is your secret employee that never forgets. Let’s review an example on how an automated system can make the above considerations work for you.

Penny Prospect visited your website, completed and submitted your web form in exchange for your e-book.

● Your automated system sends Penny the e-book nearly instantaneously and has collected the prospect contact information.

● After 24 hours, the automated system sends Penny a follow-up email with a spectacular offer.

● If Penny does not click on a link in your follow-up email, you know she hasn’t yet shown. Your automated system can send a more enticing email or put her on your newsletter list to stay relevant.

● If Penny does click on a link in your second email, you know she’s interested! Your automated system will then wait another day and make another offer. You must train your automated system once, and let the system work for you – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The options are endless and limited only by your imagination. Your customers will be the basis for referring new leads happily through your door. They may even bring YOU cookies.